Welcome to the latest episode of The Readers. This fortnight Simon is joined by his original cohost Gavin as they take part in the traditional, twice a year, look ahead at the books they are really keen to get their mits on over the next six months. As a little bonus extra they also discuss their reading year just passed and the one that is coming up ahead…

The Year That Was, The Year That Will Be () After having not been on The Readers since episode 100, even though they still do Hear Read This, Simon and Gavin have a lot to catch up on, namely what they have thought of their reading year and what they think they have planned for the year ahead.

Books To Get Excited About In Spring/Summer 2015 () Simon and Gavin discuss the 13 books (each) that they are most looking forward to in the first half of 2015, month by month.

January

Simon chose; Weathering by Lucy Wood (Bloomsbury) and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Transworld)Gavin chose; Alice and the Fly by James Rice (Hodder) and Dark Intelligence by Neal Asher (Tor)

February

Simon chose; The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer (Faber), Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller (Penguin) and Second Life by S J Watson (Transworld)Gavin chose; Kim Kardashian’s Marriage by Sam Riviere (Faber), Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman (Headline) Autumn Republic by Brian McCleellan (Orbit) and The Death House by Sarah Pinborough (Gollancz)

March (Simon’s Birthday is on the 24th)

Simon chose; Wolf, Wolf by Eben Venter (Scribe), Ghosting by Jonathan Kemp (Myriad Editions) and A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale (Tinder Press)Gavin chose; The Faces of God by Mallock (Europa Editions), The Mirror of Melody Black by Gavin Extence (Hodder), Get in Trouble by Kelly Link (Canongate), The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber) and The Case of the ‘Hail Mary’ Celeste by Malcolm Pryce (Bloomsbury)

April

Simon chose; When the Doves Disappeared by Sofi Oksanen (Atlantic Books) and A Game for All the Family by Sophie Hannah (Hodder)

May

Simon chose; A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson (Transworld) and The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (Harvill Secker)Gavin chose; The Day Shift by Charlaine Harris (Gollancz)

Next time on the Readers () Simon will be back in two weeks with Thomas and more book based banter. Before then Simon will be back next Wednesday with guest Neel Mukherjee for the latest You Wrote The Book!